Epidemiology of Injuries Caused by Mammals Treated in Emergency Departments in Marseille, France.

A total of 304 patients with mammal-related injuries were included over the 2-year survey period (1.5% of total admissions) at the emergency departments of a large city in southern France. Admissions peaked during the summer months. Dogs accounted for 75.3% and cats for 16.8% of cases. Dog injuries were significantly more common in younger individuals. Overall, signs of infection were observed in 17.9% of cases and were more likely to occur in patients injured by cats and in patients injured more than 1 day before consulting. The majority of patients received an antibiotic prophylaxis, independent to the delay between injury and consultation. Only 1 out of 10 injured patients who consulted an emergency department were seen at the rabies treatment center. Emergency department surveillance data offers an effective and efficient method for conducting animal bite surveillance to monitor trends and characterize animal bite victims.